Bulgaria - Working conditions

Bulgaria is a party to all relevant major universal as well as regional
legal instruments, such as the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. It is also a signatory to treaties on the right to equal
compensation and collective bargaining and against employment
discrimination. Market reforms, though, made Bulgarians aware of
unemployment and job insecurity problems. Before 1989, the economy was
plagued by the sustained labor deficit for blue-collar workers, but
labor disputes were virtually non-existent since the Communist Party
supervised trade unions. Nevertheless, over the decades after World War
II, working conditions improved in both urban and rural areas with the
introduction of new technology and progressive legislation and the
development of health-care and social-security systems. At the same
time, safety at work and environmental protection, particularly in the
mining, energy, and chemical industries, were often inadequate.

Household Consumption in PPP Terms

Country

All Food

Clothing and footwear

Fuel and power
a

Health care
b

Education
b

Transport & Communications

Other

Bulgaria

30

6

17

8

11

5

23

United States

13

9

9

4

6

8

51

Russia

28

11

16

7

15

8

16

Romania

36

7

9

3

20

9

16

Data represent percentage of consumption in PPP terms.

a
Excludes energy used for transport.

b
Includes government and private expenditures.

SOURCE:
World Bank.
World Development Indicators 2000.

Bulgaria did not develop independent labor unions as such before
democratic reforms took root. The only exception was the Podkrepa Labor
Confederacy, now one of the major national unions. Along with the
Confederacy of Independent Syndicates of Bulgaria and other groups, the
Podkrepa participates in collective bargaining, and the unions'
role is growing as many Bulgarians face unemployment and deteriorating
working conditions. Conditions are notably bad in clothing sweatshops
set up by foreign investors in rural areas severely afflicted by
unemployment. Women have traditionally participated on an equal footing
in the economy but are now suffering heavily from unemployment,
job-related stress, and unsafe labor conditions. Over the 1990s,
hundreds of thousands of educated young Bulgarians left the country, and
it is expected that the forthcoming waiver of visa requirements for most
EU countries will encourage others to seek short-term employment. EU
membership is likely to intensify the mobility of workers between
countries until a balance is reached.

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